Homeless Asked To Leave Riverfront Camp In Fort Smith

Micheal Bowers can only speculate on his future now that the railroad has asked him to leave his residence of two years, a sprawling homeless camp along the Arkansas River.

Micheal Bowers can only speculate on his future now that the railroad has asked him to leave his residence of two years, a sprawling homeless camp along the Arkansas River.

“They gave me a week to move,” he said Wednesday on a cramped trail surrounded by woods near camp. “They said I was right at the property line. I don’t know where I’m going to be. I’ve got some ideas, but I’m not 100 percent sure where.”

The 48-year-old Oklahoma City native and a handful of other camp residents were asked Wednesday by Kansas City Southern Railway Company agent Paul Tappana to vacate the camp within a week.

Kansas City Southern spokeswoman C. Doniele Carlson said the railroad will “follow up to make sure that happens and will post appropriate signage.”

“Once the property has been vacated, an environmental review will be made to determine the next steps,” she said in an emailed statement Wednesday afternoon.

Littered with debris and trash, the camp is filled with dozens of tarp-covered dwellings, tents and other structures.

“There are probably 10 or 12 people now,” Bowers said. “There used to be like 20 people, but some got places. We’ve known for a couple of weeks something was going to happen.”

According to Carlson, the railroad launched its investigation into potential trespassing based on contact from a local resident.

Early Wednesday, a pair of Fort Smith police officers escorted Tappana to the camp, which is hidden in the woods just off Riverfront Drive.

“It went well,” Sgt. Doug Brooks said. “(Tappana) asked for everybody to be off the property by Wednesday the 15th.”

Officers made contact with eight or nine individuals at the camp, Brooks said.

“I know they went to the (Next Step) Day Room, (Community Rescue) Mission and Salvation Army so they could help spread the word that way,” he added.

Next Step Day Room executive director Amy Sherrill said she’s seen an influx of homeless seeking assistance.

“We’ve had a steady stream of folks we haven’t seen in some time,” she said. “There’s been a lot of commotion and confusion the last couple of weeks.”

Area homeless advocates estimate that the camp is at least 15 years old.

“That’s kind of why it sent them in panic mode two weeks ago when we started seeing them,” Sherrill said.

Bowers said he has stayed at shelters in the past but is unlikely to return.

“I don’t see what the big deal is, why we should have to move,” he said. “We’re quite a ways from anybody. We’re not hurting anybody.”

Fort Smith resident and apartment owner Leo Peacock said he daily walks a city-owned trail near the homeless camp.

“They’re riddled through here,” he said. “They’ve been here forever.”

Peacock would like to see Rice Carden Walking Trail used more often. The 2.5-mile gravel trail starts at Garrison Avenue and extends north along the Riverfront Drive right of way and Arkansas River floodplain.

“We have some great assets here, and the only ones who use it are deviants and homeless,” he said. “You have all this wildlife and beautiful backwoods, and no one will use this trail. They are afraid of the homeless. Worse yet, all your sexual deviants hang out down here.”

Parks Director Mike Alsup said he too would like to see more people use the trail.

“I think part of it is the location and reputation,” Alsup said. “The Police Department has arrested male prostitutes at Fort Smith Park and the levee trail. It’s quite an issue; people don’t want to be around that type of atmosphere.”